Rupee opened higher, Dollar slightly gains vs. major currencies

Tuesday,   17-Jul-2018   09:07 AM (IST)

The Indian rupee opened the day higher at 68.39/40 levels compared to its previous close at 68.57/58 levels after Brent crude tumbles to lowest in three months. Indian government bonds jump in early trade, with 10-year benchmark note hitting seven-week high, as crude oil prices tumbled overnight, easing inflation concerns. The Equity markets opened flat today amid weakness in their Asian peers. As per the technical indicators range for the USDINR pair may be 68.15-68.65 levels. Rupee has an immediate support at 68.52 levels. A breach of the same may see rupee at 68.58 followed by 68.74 levels. On the positive side rupee is likely to face resistance at 68.32 levels and if it is able to break the same then it may gain up to 68.20 levels followed by 68.03 levels.

The dollar slightly gained against its major peers on Tuesday, as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's first congressional testimony for any clues on the pace of U.S. interest rate rises. Powell will testify on the economy and monetary policy before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee at 1400 GMT on Tuesday, followed by a testimony at the same time on Wednesday to the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. Powell is likely to reaffirm the Fed's gradual monetary tightening policy in his testimony, although any suggestion of caution on trade could put a dent in the market's appetite for risk. The dollar's gains have this year been capped by worries over the intensifying trade dispute between the United States and China, although the concerns have not derailed the greenback's solid performance so far. On Tuesday, the Australian dollar edged 0.1 percent lower to 0.7414 cents per dollar. The euro was nearly flat against the dollar, changing hands at $1.1709.